Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of Gambia, you would:
Health
be 92.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Gambia, 1.3% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 11.6 years longer
In Gambia, the average life expectancy is 66 years (64 years for men, 68 years for women) as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 5.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Gambia spends $94 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sri Lanka spends $507 as of 2023.
have 12.6 times more doctors per person
Gambia has 0.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sri Lanka has 11.4 as of 2023.
have 45.7% more access to essential health services
Gambia scores 46 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sri Lanka scores 67 as of 2021.
be 3.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Gambia has a suicide rate of 4.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 14.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 38.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Gambia, 6.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sri Lanka, that number is 4.0% as of 2025.
be 73.2% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Gambia, 53.4% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Sri Lanka, however, that number is 14.3% as of 2019.
make 5.4 times more money
Gambia has a GDP per capita of $919 as of 2025, while in Sri Lanka, the GDP per capita is $5,002 as of 2025.
Life
be 94.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Gambia, approximately 354.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, 18.0 women do as of 2023.
be 79.6% more likely to be literate
In Gambia, the literacy rate is 51.6% as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, it is 92.7% as of 2024.
be 84.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Gambia, approximately 32.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2024.
have 66.2% fewer children
In Gambia, there are approximately 29.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, there are 10.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 49.5% more likely to have access to electricity
In Gambia, approximately 67% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 35% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 10.3% more likely to have internet access
In Gambia, approximately 49.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Sri Lanka, about 54.6% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 34.9% less on education
Gambia spends 2.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sri Lanka spends 1.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 27.3% more on healthcare
Gambia spends 2.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sri Lanka, that number is 3.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 16.8 times more coastline
Gambia has a total of 80 km of coastline. In Sri Lanka, that number is 1,340 km.
Safety
be 47.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Gambia, road accidents kill 22.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sri Lanka, they kill 11.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 16.3 times more home broadband
Gambia has 0.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sri Lanka has 8.5 as of 2024.
live with 41.1 times more strain on fresh water
Gambia withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sri Lanka withdraws 91% as of 2022.
Environment
be 58.9% less likely to die from air pollution
In Gambia, air pollution causes 90.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sri Lanka, it causes 37.0 as of 2019.
emit 5.9 times more CO2
Gambia emits 0.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sri Lanka emits 1.1 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2019–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Gambia vs. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: At a glance
How big is Sri Lanka compared to Gambia? See an in-depth size comparison.